It Was Two Weeks
by Inspirationbynight
Summary: J'onn is kidnapped..by another world...inside a box. And it knows every move he makes. Escaping will not be easy. NOTICE: This is a fic starring J'onn, the Martian Man Hunter. Other JL members will appear but they are secondary characters.
1. Chapter 1

It was Two Weeks

By Inspirationbynight

Disclaimer: I do not own Justice League Unlimited or the characters that star there. JLU and characters belong to DC Comics and those with commercial rights.

It was Two Weeks

How time flies…when you fight every minute for your life.

J'onn: _Once I opened my mind to the city of Metropolis in search of Lex Luthor. I was overwhelmed by the inner thoughts of the people; by their selfishness, greed, and self-centered perceptions. I was also touched and relieved to know they care about their fellow man and how far they would go for strangers and loved ones to be safe. _

_I have lived for a long time by Earth standards and have seen the horror of war, death, destruction, loss and betrayal. I have the faces behind each. But through all of my experiences, I never imagined that the faces would be those that live around me, walk beside me, talk to me on a daily basis. I never imagined that I would coexist with those faces while knowing what they were. _

"Find anything J'onn?" Flash asked his alien friend.

Flash, J'onn, Superman, and Batman were searching the ruins of Gotham's docks after the Penguin and his hired hands had blown the place up when their deal went bad. Rather than have their illegal and stolen cargo taken in, everything went up in flames. The reason they were there was to search for a powerful and possibly dangerous item which the police couldn't give a description of because the owner suddenly ceased to communicate with the officials.

Zatanna and Dr. Fate were with other League members elsewhere on the globe aiding in natural disasters and Commissioner Gordon had declared the situation important. Gotham was strange and dangerous as it was and an item that added fuel to the fire was not welcomed.

J'onn was using his telepathic abilities, or superbrain as Flash called it when he thought J'onn didn't hear him, to search for the item in question. If it was out of the ordinary, which it was said to be, he would be able to find it.

"J'onn? You ok?" Flash asked, waving a hand in front of J'onn's glowing eyes.

"Yes.." J'onn answered as he continued to concentrate.

The Martian Man Hunter began to pull debris away from the place where a warehouse had turned to ruin and ash. Something was hiding. Something was trying to escape his searching mind. J'onn probed deeper while at the same time, pushing charred wood and broken metal out of his way in urgency. It would not escape him, whatever it was.

It could think.

"Hey Bats, tell Superman J'onn's found something," Flash said through his comm-link.

"Where are you?" Batman asked, already on the move.

Flash bent down to help J'onn as soon as he noticed his friend digging in earnest. "We're—"

"Flash, no!" J'onn shouted, pushing the red-costumed hero away with more force than he had intended or thought he had.

_Him._ The thing had said telepathically. J'onn could make out a box under the remaining debris as he continued to mentally search for the thing that attempted to elude him. In the speed of thought, J'onn knew it was trap. It had lured him into searching for it with gusto so that Flash would join in. Flash did not have the mental abilities J'onn did and that made Flash the better target to devour into its world. J'onn reached for the box at the same time he pushed Flash away, not wanting him to be caught.

"J'onn!" Flash cried out once he stopped skidding on the ground.

J'onn was gone.

When the Martian's mind began to regain consciousness he realized many things, some at the same time, before he opened his eyes. The box contained a world—it sealed it. The world was alive: it had a vivid and obvious flow that J'onn could feel as if he was touching an exposed heart. The world preyed on the weak of mind so it tried to take Flash.

J'onn opened his eyes and thought that someone had dimmed the lights. The sky was there but without a moon or sun or any stars. It was perpetual twilight.

_Where did that strength come from?_ J'onn wondered. It had been a Superman-worthy push and he hopped he had not hurt Flash.

"Get up!"

J'onn saw a girl—rather a figure of a girl. She was a shadowy blur slowly taking on a form J'onn could identify.

"We have to run," she said urgently as her hands pulled him to stand up. She was an adolescent, fair of skin with dark hair.

J'onn stood and ran with her as he marveled at his senses. He heard her words clearly and could tell she had some superpowers but what astounded him was how he felt her urgency the way he felt her hands grab his arm.

Just as J'onn could read a person's mind without him or her feeling him intrude or knowing he had done so, J'onn could read the girl beside him without making an attempt to do so. That was what it felt like. The sensations, the knowledge simply came to him and he found her mind was blank, empty of anything and everything except to get them both to safety. There was no worry, no fear, no excitement.

"It's amazing for you, but don't think about it so hard or they will find us," she pleaded. Again, J'onn could feel her apprehension as well as her pleasure that he noticed he could feel these things.

J'onn centered himself, pushing these strange and wonderful revelations to the side for later. As soon as he had done that it was if their speed had doubled. The teenager holding his hand was focused on one thing: get away.

The twilight landscape rushed past them or they rushed past it. Trees, houses, grass, roofs, streets, fences, all came and went until the girl slowed to a stop in front of a door that belonged to a small wood and brick house. Once inside, the atmosphere changed. Like being inside a bubble, J'onn realized how menacing the world was and how threatened they had been before stepping through the door into sanctuary.

"Sit with me," the dark-haired girl invited as she walked into a brightly lit room. There were several cushions piled in one corner of the room and a low chair next to the door. Small tables were backed against the wall holding several treats, foods, and drinks.

"I come in here when I don't want to be anywhere else," she explained.

J'onn sat in the chair and found it comfortable. He accepted a coffee mug of water but declined to eat. The girl lay on her pile of cushions like any person would after coming home from a hard day's work.

She and J'onn remained in comfortable silence for an untold amount of time until J'onn wanted to ask his questions. He could feel the adolescent's attention on him though she did not move from her position or open her eyes.

How had she found him?

"There's something you should know about this world," she said to J'onn, breaking the silence. "It's alive."


	2. Chapter 2

"It thinks to a degree," the teen clarified. "It knew you were around and brought you here but I'm not sure why."

While J'onn took the information in, the teen reorganized her pile of cushions. She was in no hurry and the Martian had a feeling that he would not be leaving any time soon. Still, he had questions.

"How did you find me?" J'onn asked her.

"The world. It brought you here", She answered. She investigated as soon as she knew but had to race against enemies to reach him before they did.

"What enemies? Who are they?" He also wondered. What they wanted with him?

"The world is divided into three types of beings: Citizens, Fighters, and Enemies. Enemies are Monsters, threats, evil, merciless, cruel. They only know two sides: them and us. They are horrible things that want to destroy everyone and everything because it's their nature. They do not have reason and they do not need it," the dark-haired teen explained. "That's who the enemies are."

J'onn could feel the emotions that communicated her responses. It was incredible and terrible at once. "How can this be?"

She did not understand his question but shared his wonder at the horrible truth. "Monsters are always looking for someone to torment. That never changes. Citizens and fighters are targets. Fighters can defend against the enemy. The enemy is everywhere." It sounded like a mantra.

"What about police? People—others to help fight?"

Images of men and women in uniforms floated from J'onn's mind to hers without intending to. "There is no physical distinction among Fighters other than they can fight against the enemy."

From her mind to his, J'onn could see orbs of color within female and male figures. Those with an orange color were fighters; those with a murky blue-brown color were citizens. There was a moment of darkness where J'onn thought he had gone blind but it was gone as soon as it had come. That was the enemy if it had a color.

"Do not look at their face, they will paralyze you and… do terrible things to you." The girl closed herself off from J'onn's mind as she stood up. J'onn also stood, leaving his cup on the nearest table.

Her black eyes glanced up at J'onn then turned towards the door. Unlike humans who only had color within their iris, there was no 'whites of her eyes' only black yet it did not unsettle him. He had stranger physical features.

"I have to go." J'onn could feel her emotions again. She deliberately opened herself to him so he did not have to probe her mind. It was unusual and surprising since J'onn had only come across species that valued keeping to themselves.

This adolescent was preparing herself to fight, much like any member of the League did when they knew the battle they faced was not going to be easy. He could sense a routine behind the preparation stretching far, far back to her younger years. This was not her first fight but what was she going to face?

"I will come with you," J'onn told her as he followed her to the door. He did not feel comfortable staying inside the box-like room.

His hostess did not give him a warning to remain behind or tell him what dangers awaited them. Instead she said, "Stay close."

^*^*^

Gotham docks…

Superman searched through the wreckage with his X-ray vision to no avail. Batman contacted the Watchtower with instructions to send Dr. Fate or Zatana to his location as soon as either was done with their mission.

Flash ran around the docks but returned without any more knowledge of J'onn's whereabouts than when he had been pushed away from the mysterious box, which sat untouched on the ground. J'onn had realized at the last minute the box was dangerous and pushed Flash away. Not about to risk a repeat of whatever happened, the three superheroes left the unburied box where it stood.

"Ok, let's go over it again," Superman began but Flash cut him off.

"How many times do you want to go over it? J'onn is still missing, for all we know he's inside that black box and needs our help!" Flash glared at the black box but he was not the type of person to hold grudges, even against inanimate objects.

J'onn had saved Flash from an unknown fate while Flash, the fastest human alive, did not have time to react and save the Martian. Unlike J'onn who had telepathic abilities, Flash could not have known that one of them would have disappeared. The knowledge did not ease the feeling of wishing he could have done something to change the outcome. He looked up at the star-studded sky in hopes of seeing Dr. Fate or Zatana coming down and helping them to save J'onn.

Superman, sympathetic to his teammate, rested a hand on Flash's shoulder. "We'll get him back," he promised.

Flash believed him. Not only because Superman was the type to keep his word but Flash believed him because he did not believe there was any other way. They had to get J'onn out of the box.

^*^*^

Within the box…

The sidewalks were full of students walking, running, on skateboards—all of them in a hurry to get to class. Finding himself surrounded by others that were not in the league, J'onn felt he needed to appear more human.

Sensing his distress, J'onn's companion put up a barrier to hide him from view. Once J'onn had donned his usual human disguise, no one seemed to have noticed the difference. She like everyone in her world dressed simply: A shirt and shorts or pants and shoes. She glanced at J'onn's wardrobe and but did not ask why he chose to disguise himself. It was not relevant to the moment.

"J'onn, watch out!" J'onn was pulled away from a boy on a bike, racing down the sidewalk without bothering to see who he had almost run over.

J'onn opened his mouth to thank his hostess but realized he did not know her name.

"I'm sorry, I never asked your name," he apologized.

The dark haired girl was momentarily silenced by surprise. "I don't have one," she said with a slight frown. She quickly went through her memories but came up with nothing.

Students were picking up their pace to get to class before the bell rang. The sidewalk and halls were empty.

"Come on," she said to J'onn, the matter of a name quickly forgetten.

J'onn followed his hostess to the gym where students were lining up to climb a rope. J'onn stiffened. The air was tense. Fear came from the students like the torturous slow drip of water from a leaky faucet: is it nothing? Is it something terrible? J'onn had been in the twilight-drenched world for several hours but he was no closer to becoming familiar with his heightened sixth sense that warned him the moment he stepped inside the gym than he was when he was first pulled into the world.

The gym teacher was a burly man with a mean look. He glared at the students and pointed to one to step forward. J'onn sensed his teen savior beside him, tense like a cat ready to spring. He did not even have to glance at her to know! J'onn should have been ready as well but he could not accept that in a place like a school, such a thing would happen.

Then J'onn felt it as he saw it: no remorse, no pity, no thoughts of why or revenge; there was a need to have pain and agony; a need for fear. The gym teacher unleashed a hard backhand at the student, sending him sprawling to the ground. A busted lip and a bleeding nose was only the first of what was to come—or would have if the gym teacher had not been sumo-style punched through the brick wall.

"Everyone scatter!"


	3. Chapter 3

"Everyone scatter!"

J'onn watched as the students took heed of his hostess' words. She had run as if she had turned into the wind; her speed was great. The students carried their injured classmate away while J'onn finally caught up with the events.

Before he could reach her, the gym teacher was no longer recognizable. The illusion of a man had been stripped away and revealed the truth: a gruesome creature of black mass with sickly green glowing eyes. Without hesitation, it lunged at her.

"Let her go!" J'onn cried out as he ran forward. The creature had a thick hand wrapped around the adolescent girl's torso.

The creature formed another arm out of its black mass and aimed for J'onn but the Martian was faster.

Seizing the moment the Monster was distracted, the black-eyed girl focused her breathing as a swimmer does before diving. She slipped through the creature's hand and immediate sought to deliver a punch at its stomach. Being slow, the creature realized too late its prey had escaped and doubled over. J'onn added his two cents backed up by his speed to deliver the blow that had sent many enemies on earth flying.

Only it didn't fly. The black creature was vanquished: there one moment and gone the next with a gasp like it was surprised to be defeated. The girl stood searching for another opponent for a few seconds before accepting that it had only been one then motioned for J'onn to follow her out the hole in the wall she had caused.

"Sometimes they come in packs," she explained, even though J'onn had not said anything.

She did not change. She spoke as calmly as she had since they met. They had vanquished a Monster masquerading as a teacher and she had not flinched. It bothered J'onn. He had defeated several creatures in the past…but none of them were human or intelligent. That was bitter taste of their victory in his mind.

There was no trace to be seen in the room, on the floor, or on the walls of what had occurred except for the hole in the wall.

"That was an enemy," the adolescent told him. She could sense conflict clouding his mind and tried to probe him free of it.

"How terrible," J'onn said as he thought of the human face it had worn and what it had done to the boy and what it would have continued to do.

"No it isn't. It's one less," she answered, surprised that he could be feeling remorse towards a Monster.

Yes, one less. That is what Fighters hope to accomplish in a fight with the enemy. That is what Citizens hope for every morning and every evening. One less enemy. One less horror. J'onn stopped walking. It was because the creature had looked human that he felt uncomfortable.

"The other students?" J'onn asked, looking towards the other school buildings, remembering that they had fled.

"They ran off somewhere if they were smart enough to listen to me. That Monster was the only one here. As a Fighter, I know if they are around."

J'onn had an epiphany. The words she had been saying were not just words they were definitions of living creatures. She was not someone who fought like a boxer or someone who practiced martial arts. 'Fighter' was what she was the same way 'Martian' was what J'onn was.

"Are you still troubled?" she asked him.

J'onn could have beaten around the bush as Flash would have said but went to the point of his discomfort. "I think it was because it was intelligent."

"To a degree," the Fighter agreed. "Most of them are and all of them are dangerous. That one was a low-level Monster. It was no match for us."

They began to walk away from the school campus again.

"And don't talk to them anymore," she chastised him. "If you talk to them, you give them attention. If you give them attention, you let them get close to your mind and that's the quickest way for them trap you."

"You know a lot about these Monsters," J'onn commented as they came to a public street.

She pulled his arm to have him follow her across the street. "Don't you realize it yet? This is a world of will and wit. Your mind is your power and your weakness if you're not careful."

"Is that how you know when they're around?" he asked her, meaning the Monsters.

"Yes."

^*^*^*

Dr. Fate arrived not a moment too late. Flash had the presence of mind to not say 'wishes do come true' when he saw him instead watched the others update the mystic man on the situation.

"Hmm," Fate mused as he lowered himself to look at the box without touching it.

"What is it?" Batman asked him.

"I believe I know the solution to getting J'onn out of there," Fate declared.

"Seriously?" Flash asked. He did not try to cover the hope he felt for the safe return of one of his best friends.

"Yes, but I will need to gather the materials necessary to exchange J'onn," Fate explained.

"Exchange?" Superman asked.

Batman's eyebrow raised through his mask. He essentially asked the same question.

In one of the many tomes housed in Fate's home, one described a world sealed away in a box in another dimension. The world itself was one that was decaying and being overrun by what humans of their world would call monsters and unholy beasts of great evil.

Who created the box and who sealed the world away could have been the same person or different parties but that remains a mystery.

"The world inside this box is alive and requires energy just as all living things do whether it is plant, animal, or humanoid," Fate said. "However, centuries can pass before it requires a new source of energy."

"So J'onn's a new source of energy? Like a battery?" Flash asked Fate.

"In a manner," Fate assented. "Thus we need a greater energy source to replace J'onn."

"And what if that world doesn't want to give J'onn up?" Batman asked.

"Then it isn't the world we need to worry about," Fate answered grimly. "It's the inhabitants."


	4. Chapter 4 end

A.N.: The finale of It was Two Weeks. Thank you for reading and thank you for all the comments and support.

The following days J'onn remained in the box were less than delightful and more than terrible.

She did know. She always knew. She knew the old woman on the corner who asked for someone to help her cross the street was a Monster. She knew the groups of children playing in front of a candy store last night were Monsters. The day he went out to retrieve her mail, she knew the man who was walking down the street at the same time as J'onn was a Monster and the mail was a trap. The Fighter never got mail.

If J'onn had hair, it would have stood up as he briefly recalled each incident and others. She also knew what each Monster did.

"J'onn." Her hand was warm and she wanted him to stop thinking of those terrible things. They were once again in her blue and white striped room. "Don't call them," she pleaded.

J'onn breathed audibly and calmed his mind. "I have another question."

The Fighter munched on a green apple waiting for him to continue. J'onn found that the food in that world tasted like cardboard flavored with whatever food it looked like. At least he did not require sustenance frequently and he could attest to the cardboard food phrase should anyone on Earth mention it.

"What is your connection to these creatures? I can sense there is one." he asked. "I know you fight them but why? Are there any others like you?"

Before taking another bite, the Fighter answered, "I cannot help fighting them anymore than you can help being what you were born. It is the same for all Fighters and Citizens. Are there others? Yes, there were. There still might be but I have not met another Fighter in ages. We move around a lot."

Another answer she threw out casually. J'onn took it to mean it was a topic she had thought about often. "And my first question?" he asked.

She sat among her cushions rigidly. For the first time, J'onn saw her uncomfortable. "I devoured a few some time ago," she answered. In response the look of shock on J'onn's face she said, "I assumed you asked because you wanted to know."

It explained her eyes and how she knew when a Monster was around.

^*^*^

Each day was not as different as the next or the one before it. Sometimes, the Fighter and J'onn would sleep for extended periods of time. Some days there were at five Monsters to battle—all low-levels. His adolescent hostess explained that the higher level Monsters were few and far and unlikely to walk into town when they could snatch low-level Monsters between cities. J'onn found it barbaric and disturbing that Monsters would prey on their own kind. "Better them than us," the Fighter said.

One day the expectation of going out to fight or staying in to sleep was changed.

Anticipation was thick in the air of the world sealed in a box. J'onn peered out the windows of the Fighter's home but could see nothing unusual—that is, there were no Monsters walking about, no humans, no Monsters masquerading as humans either. Other than the perpetual twilight colored sky, it appeared to be a quiet mid morning.

"That is strange J'onn," the Fighter said anxiously when J'onn told her what he did not see. She had not come out of the wallpapered room since she stepped towards the front door. "There should be some activity—anything! This…this calm is not normal."

Anxiety was putting the dark haired Fighter out of her element. The feeling that something was about to happen had descended like a cat stalking a bowl of cream while its owners were out: at a leisurely pace, taking great enjoyment as it neared its goal.

But what was the goal?

The Fighter rubbed and popped her fingers as she paced in the room. "Something's going to happen, but is it good or bad?"

J'onn watched the yellow green grass sway gently in the wake of a breeze. "I wish I knew."

The Fighter nodded in agreement but did not stop pacing.

^*^*^

"We're ready when you are," Superman said to Fate.

"Be ready to pull him out once the portal is open," Fate told the trio.

He began to chant and previously invisible markings on the box began to glow.

^*^*^

J'onn followed after the adolescent as she ran from the room to the front door. He wanted to ask about her sudden change of heart to leave when she grabbed his hand and said, "Do not let go."

Like the first day they had met, they sped through the streets and past the houses and buildings. All day she had been pacing and concentrating on her sixth sense. Every so often she would pause, turn around as if listening to someone then continue to pace.

J'onn asked her what happened twice before she answered. "It's going to give you up. This world is going to send you home."

J'onn felt relieved—_no,_ he corrected himself, it was joy. _I'm going home._

Sensing J'onn's happiness, the Fighter smiled and encouraged him to speed up. They had to get away from the city so J'onn could be sent back without anyone else getting caught.

^*^*^

Dr. Fate continued to chant and the portal continued to grow.

"Do you think he's there? Waiting?" Flash asked the other two.

"Fate said it would call J'onn and he would know to go to it," Superman reminded Flash. "Besides, J'onn's a telepath remember?"

The portal was big enough for a child and still growing.

^*^*^*^

"Do you see that light?" the Fighter asked J'onn, closing her eyes against the glare.

"Yes, I see it!" J'onn told her.

As they approached the portal on the deserted road, the young girl said, "Monsters will come to see what it is, just like last time. Hurry!"

J'onn looked around him but could see nothing beyond the road and the grass around them. He could not leave her to fight them on her own if they came.

"Don't look for them, just go!" she encouraged waving her arm in the direction in front of her. In this world of twilight, the light created from the portal was more than her eyes could stand.

"But…" J'onn wanted to protest.

Familiar hands reached through the portal and voices called his name.

She pushed J'onn gently towards the portal. "Go, its ok," she told him reassuringly, opening her eyes to a slit. "I'll run home before they show up."

J'onn held her hand one last time in thanks before going through the portal and leaving the menacing twilight world behind. Before he showed up, she had been fighting and she would continue to fight after he left.

After all, she could not help what she was, any more than he could help being a Martian. But she did keep her promise…for a few hours.

^*^*^

Dr. Fate closed the portal and others stumbled back from the recoil.

Once on the other side, J'onn was surrounded by friends and their questions. Gone was sensation of his heightened sixth sense that allowed him to read the people around him as easily as he had in the world inside the box.

"Glad to have you back buddy," Flash said.

"J'onn, are you ok?" Superman asked, offering his hand to help him stand.

"I will seal this box away in a pocket dimension where it cannot take anyone else in," Dr. Fate told Batman with the box floating between them, no longer glowing.

Batman agreed and turned to J'onn and the others as Fate disappeared in a burst of light.

"Hey J'onn, you look a little out of it. You sure you're ok?" Flash asked.

"Yes, I suppose two weeks of all that would drain even myself," J'onn told him.

Superman looked at Flash and Batman as he said hesitantly, "It's only been a couple of hours."

Batman watched J'onn critically but said nothing. J'onn took Superman's words in and surveyed his surroundings again. It was night, and they were at the docks. The night still was not over. Not wanting to further concern his friends, J'onn schooled his expression to calm. He was glad they could not read him as openly as he had been read in the twilight world.

"Of course, it just seemed much longer than that," he explained. "There was no way to tell time inside the box."

"I'll bet," Flash agreed, dismissing J'onn comment to disorientation. "Must have been cramped in there too, but don't worry I've got the perfect solution. Milkshakes! My treat."

As the superhero friends headed towards their Javelin, Batman and J'onn hung back. Batman was never one to beat around the bush so asked directly, "Was it really two weeks?"

J'onn nodded in response. "Obviously time passes at a different rate there."

"We might not have your telepathic powers J'onn," Batman said, "but we have ears."

It was an offer to listen if he wanted to talk, an offer to a friend for comfort. The need to know everything about the world around him was fading quickly just as the girl was fading into the recesses of his mind. He was no longer in permanent danger and he had no need to always be on the edge. J'onn relaxed and smiled in gratitude.

"Come on Bats, caffeine for you too," Flash called before racing inside.

Batman walked to the Javelin without another word followed by J'onn.

The ship took off into the starry night sky which hinted at a brilliant dawn.

The end of a nightmare.


End file.
